Method and system for silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers are disclosed and may include, in a transceiver integrated in a silicon photonics chip: generating a first modulated output optical signal at a first wavelength utilizing a first electrical signal, generating a second modulated output optical signal at a second wavelength utilizing a second electrical signal, communicating the first and second modulated output optical signals into an optical fiber coupled to the chip utilizing a multiplexing grating coupler in the chip. A received input optical signal may be split into a modulated input optical signal at the first wavelength and a modulated input optical signal at the second wavelength utilizing a demultiplexing grating coupler in the chip. The first and second modulated input optical signals may be converted to first and second electrical input signals utilizing first and second photodetectors in the chip.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/925,452 filed on Oct. 28, 2015, which claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/122,718 filed on Oct. 28,2014, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

Certain embodiments of the disclosure relate to semiconductor photonics.More specifically, certain embodiments of the disclosure relate to amethod and system for silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexingtransceivers.

BACKGROUND

As data networks scale to meet ever-increasing bandwidth requirements,the shortcomings of copper data channels are becoming apparent. Signalattenuation and crosstalk due to radiated electromagnetic energy are themain impediments encountered by designers of such systems. They can bemitigated to some extent with equalization, coding, and shielding, butthese techniques require considerable power, complexity, and cable bulkpenalties while offering only modest improvements in reach and verylimited scalability. Free of such channel limitations, opticalcommunication has been recognized as the successor to copper links.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth inthe remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A system and/or method for silicon photonics wavelength divisionmultiplexing transceivers, substantially as shown in and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentdisclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof,will be more fully understood from the following description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a photonically-enabled integrated circuitwith silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary photonically-enabledintegrated circuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a photonically-enabled integratedcircuit coupled to an optical fiber cable, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating an example bi-wavelength opticaltransceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the gratings in a polarization splittinggrating coupler and a polarization multiplexing grating coupler, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrated grating couplers with curved gratings, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example fiber orientations with polarizationmultiplexing grating coupler designs, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a tri-wavelength multiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate a one-dimensional demultiplexing grating couplerand associated phase matching conditions, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of a 2-dimensional demultiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate phase matching conditions for atwo-dimensional demultiplexing grating coupler, in accordance with anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a two-dimensional demultiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates angles for phase matching conditions for a twodimensional demultiplexing grating coupler, in accordance with anexample embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates angles between output waveguides as a function offiber tilt angle, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate a six-waveguide two dimensionaldemultiplexing grating coupler and associated phase matching conditions,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of a quad multiplexing grating coupler,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a beam-splitting single polarization gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate different versions of beam-splitting singlepolarization grating couplers, in accordance with an example embodimentof the disclosure.

FIGS. 17A-17C illustrate grating designs for vertical orientationbeam-splitting single polarization grating couplers, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate grating designs for horizontal orientationbeam-splitting single polarization grating couplers, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain aspects of the disclosure may be found in a method and systemfor silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers.Exemplary aspects of the disclosure may comprise, in a transceiverintegrated in a silicon photonics chip: generating a first modulatedoutput optical signal at a first wavelength utilizing a first electricalsignal, generating a second modulated output optical signal at a secondwavelength utilizing a second electrical signal, and communicating thefirst and second modulated output optical signals into an optical fibercoupled to the chip utilizing a multiplexing grating coupler in thechip. A received input optical signal may be split into a modulatedinput optical signal at the first wavelength and a modulated inputoptical signal at the second wavelength utilizing a demultiplexinggrating coupler in the chip. The modulated input optical signal at thefirst wavelength may be converted to a first electrical input signalutilizing a first photodetector in the chip. The modulated input opticalsignal at the second wavelength may be converted to a second electricalinput signal utilizing a second photodetector in the chip. The first andsecond modulated output optical signals may be generated by modulatingcontinuous wave (CW) optical signals at the first and secondwavelengths, respectively. The multiplexing grating coupler and/or thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a grating region and anexpanding region between the grating region and an optical waveguide,with a slit between the grating region and the tapered region. Themultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a pair of intersectinggratings. A spacing of each intersecting grating may be configured toscatter optical signals at one of the first and second wavelengths.Scatterers may be situated at intersections of the intersectinggratings. The scatterers may comprise holes in a silicon layer at ornear a top surface of the silicon photonics chip. The multiplexinggrating coupler and/or the demultiplexing grating coupler may comprise agrating with hexagonal symmetry. The demultiplexing grating coupler maycomprise a grating that scatters optical signals at the first wavelengthinto at least one waveguide in the silicon photonics chip in a firstdirection and scatters optical signals at the second wavelength into atleast one waveguide in the silicon photonics chip in a second directionsubstantially opposite to the first direction. The multiplexing gratingcoupler and/or the demultiplexing grating coupler may comprise abeam-splitting grating coupler.

The multiplexing grating coupler may comprise a pair of intersectinggratings, where a spacing of each intersecting grating is configured toscatter optical signals at one of the first and second wavelengths.Scatterers may be situated at intersections of the intersectinggratings, and may comprise holes etched in a surface of the siliconphotonics chip. The multiplexing grating coupler and/or thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a grating with hexagonalsymmetry. The demultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a grating thatscatters optical signals at the first wavelength into a waveguide in thesilicon photonics chip in a first direction and scatters optical signalsat the second wavelength into a waveguide in the silicon photonics chipin a second direction opposite to the first direction. Thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a beam-splitting singlepolarization grating coupler.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a photonically-enabled integrated circuitwith silicon photonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 1A, there are shown optoelectronic devices on aphotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprising opticalmodulators 105A-105D, photodiodes 111A-111D, monitor photodiodes113A-113D, and optical devices comprising couplers 103A-103C and gratingcouplers 117A-117H. There are also shown electrical devices and circuitscomprising amplifiers 107A-107D, analog and digital control circuits109, and control sections 112A-112D. The amplifiers 107A-107D maycomprise transimpedance and limiting amplifiers (TIA/LAs), for example.

In an example scenario, the photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130comprises a CMOS photonics die with a laser assembly 101 coupled to thetop surface of the IC 130. The laser assembly 101 may comprise one ormore semiconductor lasers with isolators, lenses, and/or rotators fordirecting one or more continuous-wave (CW) optical signals to thecoupler 103A. A CW optical signal may comprise an unmodulated opticalsignal comprising a coherent frequency component at a wavelength λ₁, forexample. The photonically enabled integrated circuit 130 may comprise asingle chip, or may be integrated on a plurality of die, such as withone or more electronics die and one or more photonics die.

Optical signals are communicated between optical and optoelectronicdevices via optical waveguides 110 fabricated in thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130. Single-mode or multi-modewaveguides may be used in photonic integrated circuits. Single-modeoperation enables direct connection to optical signal processing andnetworking elements. The term “single-mode” may be used for waveguidesthat support a single mode for each of the two polarizations,transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM), or for waveguidesthat are truly single mode and only support one mode. Such one mode mayhave, for example, a polarization that is TE, which comprises anelectric field parallel to the substrate supporting the waveguides. Twotypical waveguide cross-sections that are utilized comprise stripwaveguides and rib waveguides. Strip waveguides typically comprise arectangular cross-section, whereas rib waveguides comprise a rib sectionon top of a waveguide slab. Of course, other waveguide cross sectiontypes are also contemplated and within the scope of the disclosure.

In an example scenario, the couplers 103A-103C may comprise low-lossY-junction power splitters where coupler 103A receives an optical signalfrom the laser assembly 101 and splits the signal to two branches thatdirect the optical signals to the couplers 103B and 103C, which splitthe optical signal once more, resulting in four roughly equal poweroptical signals.

The optical power splitter may comprise at least one input waveguide andat least two output waveguides. The couplers 103A-103C shown in FIG. 1Aillustrate 1-by-2 splitters, which divide the optical power in onewaveguide into two other waveguides evenly. These Y-junction splittersmay be used in multiple locations in an optoelectronic system, such asin a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator, e.g., the opticalmodulators 105A-105D, where a splitter and a combiner are needed, sincea power combiner can be a splitter used in reverse.

The optical modulators 105A-105D comprise Mach-Zehnder or ringmodulators, for example, and enable the modulation of thecontinuous-wave (CW) laser input signal. The optical modulators105A-105D may comprise high-speed and low-speed phase modulationsections and are controlled by the control sections 112A-112D. Thehigh-speed phase modulation section of the optical modulators 105A-105Dmay modulate a CW light source signal with a data signal. The low-speedphase modulation section of the optical modulators 105A-105D maycompensate for slowly varying phase factors such as those induced bymismatch between the waveguides, waveguide temperature, or waveguidestress and is referred to as the passive phase, or the passive biasingof the MZI.

In an example scenario, the high-speed optical phase modulators mayoperate based on the free carrier dispersion effect and may demonstratea high overlap between the free carrier modulation region and theoptical mode. High-speed phase modulation of an optical mode propagatingin a waveguide is the building block of several types of signal encodingused for high data rate optical communications. Speed in the severalGb/s may be required to sustain the high data rates used in modernoptical links and can be achieved in integrated Si photonics bymodulating the depletion region of a PN junction placed across thewaveguide carrying the optical beam. In order to increase the modulationefficiency and minimize the loss, the overlap between the optical modeand the depletion region of the PN junction is carefully optimized.

One output of each of the optical modulators 105A-105D may be opticallycoupled via the waveguides 110 to the grating couplers 117E-117H. Theother outputs of the optical modulators 105A-105D may be opticallycoupled to monitor photodiodes 113A-113D to provide a feedback path. TheIC 130 may utilize waveguide based optical modulation and receivingfunctions. Accordingly, the receiver may employ an integrated waveguidephoto-detector (PD), which may be implemented with epitaxialgermanium/SiGe films deposited directly on silicon, for example.

The grating couplers 117A-117H may comprise optical gratings that enablecoupling of light into and out of the photonically-enabled integratedcircuit 130. The grating couplers 117A-117D may be utilized to couplelight received from optical fibers into the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130, and the grating couplers 117E-117H may beutilized to couple light from the photonically-enabled integratedcircuit 130 into optical fibers. The grating couplers 117A-117H maycomprise single polarization grating couplers (SPGC) and/or polarizationsplitting grating couplers (PSGC). In instances where a PSGC isutilized, two input, or output, waveguides may be utilized.

The optical fibers may be epoxied, for example, to the CMOS chip, andmay be aligned at an angle from normal to the surface of thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 to optimize couplingefficiency. In an example embodiment, the optical fibers may comprisesingle-mode fiber (SMF) and/or polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF).

In another exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B, optical signalsmay be communicated directly into the surface of thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 without optical fibers bydirecting a light source on an optical coupling device in the chip, suchas the light source interface 135 and/or the optical fiber interface139. This may be accomplished with directed laser sources and/or opticalsources on another chip flip-chip bonded to the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130.

The photodiodes 111A-111D may convert optical signals received from thegrating couplers 117A-117D into electrical signals that are communicatedto the amplifiers 107A-107D for processing. In another embodiment of thedisclosure, the photodiodes 111A-111D may comprise high-speedheterojunction phototransistors, for example, and may comprise germanium(Ge) in the collector and base regions for absorption in the 1.3-1.6 μmoptical wavelength range, and may be integrated on a CMOSsilicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer.

The analog and digital control circuits 109 may control gain levels orother parameters in the operation of the amplifiers 107A-107D, which maythen communicate electrical signals off the photonically-enabledintegrated circuit 130. The control sections 112A-112D compriseelectronic circuitry that enables modulation of the CW laser signalreceived from the splitters 103A-103C. The optical modulators 105A-105Dmay require high-speed electrical signals to modulate the refractiveindex in respective branches of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), forexample. In an example embodiment, the control sections 112A-112D mayinclude sink and/or source driver electronics that may enable abidirectional link utilizing a single laser.

In operation, the photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 may beoperable to transmit and/or receive and process optical signals. Opticalsignals may be received from optical fibers by the grating couplers117A-117D and converted to electrical signals by the photodetectors111A-111D. The electrical signals may be amplified by transimpedanceamplifiers in the amplifiers 107A-107D, for example, and subsequentlycommunicated to other electronic circuitry, not shown, in thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130.

Integrated photonics platforms allow the full functionality of anoptical transceiver to be integrated on a single chip. An opticaltransceiver chip contains optoelectronic circuits that create andprocess the optical/electrical signals on the transmitter (Tx) and thereceiver (Rx) sides, as well as optical interfaces that couple theoptical signals to and from a fiber. The signal processing functionalitymay include modulating the optical carrier, detecting the opticalsignal, splitting or combining data streams, and multiplexing ordemultiplexing data on carriers with different wavelengths.

One of the most important commercial applications of silicon photonicsis to make high speed optical transceivers, i.e., ICs that haveoptoelectronic transmission (Tx) and receiving (Rx) functionalityintegrated in the same chip. The input to such an IC is either a highspeed electrical data-stream that is encoded onto the Tx outputs of thechip by modulating the light from a laser, or an optical data-streamthat is received by integrated photodetectors and converted into asuitable electrical signal by going through a Trans-impedance Amplifier(TIA)/Limiting Amplifier (LA) chain. Such silicon photonics transceiverlinks operate at baud-rates ranging from 10 Gbps-28 Gbps or more.

A typical approach to coupling light into an integrated optics chip isusing diffractive elements, called grating couplers. Conventionalgrating couplers offer low coupling loss as well as high alignmenttolerance. However, one drawback is the limited spectral bandwidth ofthese structures. For this reason, they are often consideredincompatible with coarse wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing (WDM)solutions.

In addition, implementing the multiplexing and demultiplexing elementson an integrated optics platform is complex. Control of themultiplexing/demultiplexing elements is often needed in highindex-contrast platforms, such as silicon on silica. One example of amultiplexing element is an interleaver that comprises an asymmetricMach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Typically, an MZI interleaverrequires a biasing element to align its passband with the wavelengthcomb of the WDM system.

Coarse WDM uses wavelengths over a wider optical bandwidth than can beaccommodated with a single conventional grating coupler. Activemultiplexing and demultiplexing functions implemented on integratedoptics platforms are complex and costly. The grating coupler designspresented in this disclosure enable WDM transceivers in siliconphotonics. These grating couplers avoid large coupling loss penaltiesfor coupling multiple wavelengths. Furthermore, they combine twofunctionalities into a single device: coupling the light signal from thefiber to the chip or vice versa (coupler functionality) and combiningand separating out signals carried by multiple wavelengths(multiplexer/demultiplexer functionality).

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary photonically-enabledintegrated circuit, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure. Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprising electronicdevices/circuits 131, optical and optoelectronic devices 133, a lightsource interface 135, a chip front surface 137, an optical fiberinterface 139, CMOS guard ring 141, and a surface-illuminated monitorphotodiode 143.

The light source interface 135 and the optical fiber interface 139comprise grating couplers, for example, that enable coupling of lightsignals via the CMOS chip surface 137, as opposed to the edges of thechip as with conventional edge-emitting/receiving devices. Couplinglight signals via the chip surface 137 enables the use of the CMOS guardring 141 which protects the chip mechanically and prevents the entry ofcontaminants via the chip edge.

The electronic devices/circuits 131 comprise circuitry such as theamplifiers 107A-107D and the analog and digital control circuits 109described with respect to FIG. 1A, for example. The optical andoptoelectronic devices 133 comprise devices such as the couplers103A-103C, optical terminations, grating couplers 117A-117H, opticalmodulators 105A-105D, high-speed heterojunction photodiodes 111A-111D,and monitor photodiodes 113A-113D.

In an example scenario, the optical and optoelectronic devices 133 maycomprise grating couplers for incoming/outgoing WDM signals and theelectronics devices/circuits 131 may comprise demux control circuitry.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a photonically-enabled integratedcircuit coupled to an optical fiber cable, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1C, there is shown thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprising the chip surface137 and the CMOS guard ring 141. There are also shown a fiber-to-chipcoupler 145, an optical fiber cable 149, and an optical source assembly147.

The photonically-enabled integrated circuit 130 comprises the electronicdevices/circuits 131, the optical and optoelectronic devices 133, thelight source interface 135, the chip surface 137, and the CMOS guardring 141 may be as described with respect to FIG. 1B.

In an example embodiment, the optical fiber cable may be affixed, viaepoxy for example, to the CMOS chip surface 137. The fiber chip coupler145 enables the physical coupling of the optical fiber cable 149 to thephotonically-enabled integrated circuit 130.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating an example bi-wavelength opticaltransceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a multi-wavelength WDM transceiver200 comprising electronic, optical, and optoelectronic devices forcommunicating electrical and optical signals. Accordingly, thetransceiver 200 comprises a Tx electronic interface 201,non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modules 203A-203D, modulators 205A and 205B,lasers 207A and 207B, grating couplers 209A and 209B, photodetectors211A and 211B, and a Rx electronic interface 213.

The Tx electronic interface 201 may comprise suitable circuitry forreceiving electrical signals from other parts of the chip that comprisethe transceiver 200 or from external to the chip, and multiplex theminto a smaller number of signals. For example, the Tx electronicinterface 201 may receive four 10 Gb/s NRZ signals and multiplex them totwo 50 Gb/s NRZ signals. Alternatively, the Tx electronic interface 201may receive four 25 Gb/s NRZ signals and multiplex them to two 25 GbaudPAM-4 multilevel signals.

The NRZ modules 203A and 203B may comprise suitable circuitry forprocessing multiplexed NRZ signals and reducing signal noise, forexample, before communicating the resulting signals to the modulators205A and 205B. The laser sources 207A and 207B may comprisesemiconductor lasers in an optical source assembly coupled to the chipcomprising the transceiver 200, and may each be operable to emitcontinuous-wave (CW), or unmodulated, optical source signals to thetransceiver. The laser sources 207A and 207B may couple light into thechip via grating couplers, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and the receivedoptical source signal may be communicated via waveguides to themodulators 205A and 205B.

The modulators 205A and 205B may comprise Mach-Zehnder modulators, forexample, that may receive CW optical signals from the laser sources 207Aand 207B and modulate the optical signals with a data signal comprisingthe NRZ electrical signals from the NRZ modules 203A and 203B. The NRZelectrical signals may modulate the index of refraction and/orabsorption in sections of the modulators 205A and 205B, resulting in amodulated optical signal that may be communicated via waveguides to thegrating coupler 209A. In an example scenario, each modulator 205A and205B may be configured for a different wavelength, λ₁ and λ₂, which maythen be multiplexed by grating coupler 209A.

The grating coupler 209A may comprise a polarization multiplexinggrating coupler (PMGC) with gratings tuned to a different wavelength ateach waveguide input. This is shown further with respect to FIGS. 3-18.

Similarly, the grating coupler 209B may comprise a demultiplexinggrating coupler (DMGC) that is operable to receive multiplexed opticalsignals at a plurality of wavelengths, two in this example, andcommunicate each wavelength to a different photodetector 211A or 211B.Grating couplers are described further with respect to FIGS. 3-18.

The photodetectors 211A and 211B may comprise integrated photodiodes onthe transceiver die, and may each be operable to detect a differentwavelength, λ₁ and λ₂, for example, and generate electrical signalsrepresentative of the data signals at each wavelength. The electricalsignals may then be communicated to the NRZ modules 203C and 203D, whichmay comprise suitable circuitry for processing multiplexed NRZ signalsand reducing signal noise, for example, before communicating theresulting signals to the Rx electronic interface 213.

The Rx electronic interface may comprise suitable circuitry forreceiving electrical signals from other parts of the chip that comprisethe transceiver 200 or from external to the chip, and multiplex theminto a smaller number of signals. For example, the Rx electronicinterface 213 may receive two 50 Gb/s NRZ signals and demultiplex themto four 25 Gb/s NRZ signals. Alternatively, the Rx electronic interface213 may receive two 25 Gbaud PAM-4 multilevel signals and demultiplexthem to four 25 Gb/s NRZ signals.

The transmitter and the receiver sides of the transceiver typicallyrequire a different type of coupling element. On the transmitter side itis usually acceptable to launch a signal into the fiber with anarbitrary polarization. However, on the receiver side, the polarizationstate of the incoming signal is unknown if the fiber used in the systemis not polarization maintaining. Therefore, the grating coupler is alsooften required to couple the optical signal from the fiber so that thecoupled power is substantially polarization independent. The input andoutput optical signals in FIG. 1 may be communicated in the same opticalfiber, in separate cores in a multi-core fiber, or in different fibersin a fiber ribbon, for example.

The example optical transceiver chip shown in FIG. 2 transmits at 100Gb/s rates by combining two 25 Gbaud PAM-4 signals onto two carrierwavelengths. A bi-wavelength polarization-multiplexing grating coupler(PMGC), grating coupler 209A, on the transmitter interface multiplexesthe two wavelengths λ₁ and λ₂ into a single fiber. On the receiverinput, a demultiplexing grating coupler (DMGC), grating coupler 209B,may be used to couple and demultiplex the signal into four separatewaveguides. The pair of waveguides carrying signals with the samewavelength may be detected in a single photodetector (PD) 211A or 211B.The fiber input to the grating coupler 209B is shown with λ₁ and λ₂indicating that the signals at both wavelengths are carried together inthe fiber and the output at GC 209A also illustrates both wavelengths.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the gratings in a polarization splittinggrating coupler and a polarization multiplexing grating coupler, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 3A, there is shown an array of gratings for a polarizationsplitting grating coupler (PSGC) 310. As shown in FIG. 3A, the gratingpitch is the same for each output direction. In this manner, bothoutputs communicate optical signals with the same wavelength.

An example of a grating coupler that multiplexes two signals atdifferent wavelengths into a single fiber is a PMGC comprising atwo-dimensional (2D) grating, which may be considered as twointersecting one-dimensional (1D) gratings. The PMGC is in some of itsaspects analogous to a PSGC, but its layout and functionality differssubstantially from that of the PSGC. In the PMGC, the scatterers thatdirect the optical power out of the plane of the chip are placed at theintersections of the two 1D gratings. In the PSGC, the pitch of thesetwo gratings is identical, corresponding to the wavelength of the singleoptical signal, whereas in the PMGC 320, the two pitches differ andcorrespond to the wavelengths of the two optical signals.

The lines in FIG. 3B represent the constituent 1D gratings in the planeof the chip for the two different wavelengths, as indicated by thearrows labeled λ₁ and λ₂. The fiber is near perpendicular to the planeof the drawing and is situated above the gratings, although the fibertypically encloses a small angle of approximately between 5-20 degreeswith the normal to the chip. The arrows show the direction of the lightpropagation in the plane of the chip, and wavelengths λ₁ and λ₂ indicatethe direction in which the optical signal propagates for the twodifferent wavelengths.

One way to utilize the PMGC in a WDM photonic circuit is to multiplextwo arbitrary wavelengths together into a single fiber. The arrows inFIG. 3A indicate that the PSGC 310 is typically used as an input to areceiver, and depending on the polarization of the light in the fiber,the optical power is split into two more or less orthogonal directionson the chip. The PMGC 320 has two inputs on the chip, where twodifferent wavelength signals are provided, indicated by the arrowslabeled λ₁ and λ₂. The PMGC 320 may couple both signals to the samefiber situated above the grating. The polarization vectors of the twosignals coupled into the fiber will be approximately perpendicular toeach other.

The overlapping gratings can be fabricated in practice by placingscattering elements 321 at the intersections of the curves, with onlyone row shown for simplicity. For example, holes of various shapes canbe etched into a silicon substrate at the intersections to provide a 2Dgrating that has the multiplexing coupler functionality. The scatterers321 may be formed by etching layers of the chip or by depositingfeatures, for example.

The PMGC 320 may also be used as a demultiplexer coupler, if the twowavelength signals in the fiber have orthogonal polarizations and alignwith the appropriate directions of the grating in the PMGC 320. This canbe the case, for example, when the fiber medium is apolarization-maintaining fiber (PMF).

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrated grating couplers with curved gratings, inaccordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 4A, there is shown PSGC 410 with curved gratings and FIG. 4Billustrates PMGC 420 with curved gratings. While in the example shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B straight uniform 1D gratings are drawn, it is possibleto employ the same construction to build a PMGC based on curved focusinggratings, as shown in FIG. 4B The curved gratings in the PSGC 410 createcurved in-plane phase fronts to focus light into narrow waveguides onthe chip. Similarly, the PMGC 420 may couple light signals withapproximately circular phase fronts in the plane of the chip into afiber at two different wavelengths.

As in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the wavelengths coupled by the PSGC 410 and PMGC420 in FIGS. 4A and 4B are indicated by λ₁ and λ₂.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example fiber orientations with polarizationmultiplexing grating coupler designs, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5A, there is shown PMGC510, waveguides 501A and 501B, and fiber 505. The PMGC 510 comprisesgrating region 507 and expansion regions 503A and 503B. The gratingregion 507 may have scatterers at the intersections of the gratings 507Aand 507B. In an example scenario, the scatterers 509 may comprise etchedcircular holes, although other shapes are possible. Similarly, the sizeof the scatterers 509 shown in FIG. 5B is merely an example, and may beconfigured based on desired scattering amplitude and wavelength, forexample.

Light signals at two wavelengths may be coupled via the narrowwaveguides 501A and 501B on the chip to the inputs of the PMGC 510. Thesubmicron size mode expands inside the triangular horn-shaped expansionregions 503A and 503B between the waveguides 501A and 501B and the 2Dgrating region 507, creating circular phase fronts. The focusing gratingof the grating region 507 then scatters both wavelengths into the samefiber 505, out of the plane of the chip. In the example shown in FIG.5A, the projection of the fiber 505 onto the plane of the chip enclosesan approximately 45° angle with both input waveguides 501A and 501B.

FIG. 5B illustrates another type of PMGC where the input waveguides 501Aand 501B do not enclose the same angle with the projection of the fiber505 onto the plane. In this example, the waveguide 501B is approximatelyparallel to the fiber 505 and the waveguide 501A is approximatelyperpendicular to it.

The two focusing gratings 507A and 507B comprising the 2D grating 507can be designed appropriately by taking into account the phase matchingcondition between the fiber mode and the grating mode in each direction.After computing the proper phase matching, the orientation of the linesmaking up the 1D grating components is altered, as illustrated in theinset in FIG. 5B. For instance, grating 507B becomes slightly tiltedfrom the horizontal direction to cause the mode incoming from thevertical direction to be scattered into the fiber. Other relativeorientations between the fiber 505 and the two waveguides 501A and 501Bmay be configured.

More than two wavelengths may be multiplexed into a single fiber usingsuch a grating. Each grating direction can couple not just a singlewavelength, but a wavelength band into the fiber. For example, there canbe four separate signals, carried via four different, but fairly closelyspaced, wavelengths in the plane of the PMGC in the direction of the toparrow in the inset of FIG. 5B, and four additional WDM signals in adifferent wavelength band in the direction of the side arrow. Then thePMGC 520 can multiplex all eight signals into the fiber 505 positionedabove it.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a tri-wavelength multiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown tri-wavelength grating coupler 600,a fiber 605, and waveguides 601A-601C. The grating coupler 600 maycomprise expanding regions 603A-603C and scattering region 607 withscatterers 609. While circular scatterers are shown, other shapes andsizes are possible depending on the desired wavelength region orscattering intensity, for example.

In the couplers described in FIGS. 3-5, the 2D grating structure isbased on a combination of two one-dimensionally periodic gratings. Thetwo gratings direct light arriving at it from approximatelyperpendicular directions, therefore the 2D grating is topologicallysimilar to a square lattice, where the scatterers are placed at theintersections of the two 1D gratings. A grating with atriangular/hexagonal symmetry, as shown in the inset of FIG. 6, allowsthe multiplexing of more than two wavelengths.

The three input waveguides 601A-601C enclose an approximately 120° witheach other. The scatterers 609 can be placed at the vertices of thelattice of the scattering region 607. As with FIG. 5B, the scatterersare shown as small circular features, but other shapes and sizes may beused. The periodicity of the grating in the three different directionscorresponds to the three wavelengths of the light being coupled to thefiber, according to the phase matching conditions at each wavelength.

The grating coupler 600 may receive optical signals of three differentwavelengths λ₁, λ₂, and λ₃, via the waveguides 601A-601C, respectively.The optical signals may be expanded by the expanding regions 603A-603Cto increase the modal overlap with the scattering region 607, andtherefore increase coupling efficiency into the fiber 605. The fiber 605is shown at an exaggerated angle from normal to the plane of the gratingcoupler 600. The grating coupler 600 may also act as a demultiplexer ifthe optical signal comprising three different wavelengths is incident onthe grating.

FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate a one-dimensional demultiplexing grating couplerand associated phase matching conditions, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7A, there is showngrating coupler 700, waveguides 701A and 701B, and optical fiber 705.

The diffractive grating used in grating couplers can also be used as ademultiplexer by taking advantage of the special property of the gratingthat different wavelengths can be directed into different scatteringorders, therefore spatially separated, by the grating. One example ofthis is a demultiplexing grating coupler, which comprises aone-dimensionally periodic grating, such as the grating 707 in FIG. 7A.If the fiber 705 above the grating coupler 700 is tilted by a smallangle with respect to the normal, along the direction of periodicity,two wavelengths from the fiber can be coupled into the plane of the chipin opposite directions, as illustrated by the arrows labeled λ₁ and λ₂.

The optical power at the wavelength indicated by the λ₁ arrow is coupledin the forward direction, and the optical power at the wavelengthindicated by the λ₂ arrow is coupled in the backward direction. Giventhe two wavelengths λ₁ and λ₂, and effective index of the grating n, andthe effective index of the fiber n_(f), the grating pitch A and thefiber tilt angle θ can be calculated from the phase matching conditions.

FIG. 7B illustrates example phase matching requirements for a periodicgrating where λ₁<λ₂. The relevant wavevectors are:

-   -   k_(g1,2): wavevector of the mode propagating in the grating at        wavelengths λ_(1,2)    -   k_(f1,2): projection onto the plane of the chip of the        wavevector of the mode propagating in the fiber at wavelengths        λ_(1,2)    -   G: reciprocal lattice wavevector of the grating

The following expressions hold for the magnitudes of these vectors:

$k_{g\; 1} = {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda_{1}}n_{g\; 1}}$$k_{g\; 2} = {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda_{2}}n_{g\; 2}}$$k_{f\; 1} = {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda_{1}}n_{f\; 1}\sin\;\theta}$$k_{f\; 2} = {\frac{2\pi}{\lambda_{2}}n_{f\; 2}\sin\;\theta}$$G = \frac{2\pi}{\Lambda}$where:

-   -   n_(g1,2) is the effective index of the grating mode at        wavelengths λ_(1,2)    -   n_(f1,2) is the effective index of the fiber mode at wavelengths        λ_(1,2)

For simplicity, in the foregoing it is assumed that the effectiveindices are independent of wavelength. This assumption, whilereasonable, is not always valid, although the wavelength dependence inthe effective indices can be easily taken into account as a relativelysmall correction. In the following, the numerical subscripts are droppedfrom the effective indices to simplify the calculations.

FIG. 7C illustrates example phase matching conditions for a 1D DMGC interms of effective indices and shows the same set of vectors, where thewavevectors related to phase matching condition at λ₁ are rescaled bythe free-space wavevector at this wavelength, and the wavevectorsrelated to phase matching condition at λ₂ are rescaled by the free-spacewavevector at the other wavelength. Based on this, the phase matchingconditions in terms of the effective indices may be determined:

$n_{g} = {\frac{\lambda_{1}}{\Lambda} + {n_{f}\sin\;\theta}}$$n_{g} = {\frac{\lambda_{2}}{\Lambda} - {n_{f}\sin\;\theta}}$which yield the following equations:

$\Lambda = \frac{\lambda_{1} + \lambda_{2}}{2\; n_{g}}$$\theta = {\sin^{- 1}\frac{n_{g}\left( {\lambda_{2} - \lambda_{1}} \right)}{n_{f}\left( {\lambda_{1} + \lambda_{2}} \right)}}$

Note that due to the restriction that the fiber be tilted in the sameplane as the waveguides in the chip, both the grating pitch and thefiber tilt angle are constrained by the choice of the two wavelengths.The 1D DMGC can also operate as a multiplexer, combining two signals atthe two wavelengths from the two different waveguides into a singlefiber with optical signals of different wavelengths communicated to thegrating 707 with both signals being coupled into the optical fiber 705.

This 1D DMGC may be utilized for demultiplexing if the polarization ofthe fiber mode is well known, and it is perpendicular to the plane ofthe drawing. However, in practice, the fiber medium may comprise asingle-mode fiber, so the modes at the two wavelengths are typically inunknown polarization states as they exit the fiber. In thiscircumstance, a 2D version of the DMGC may be utilized.

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of a 2-dimensional demultiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown grating coupler 800, waveguides801A-801D, and an optical fiber 805. The grating coupler 800 maycomprise expanding regions 803A-803D that expand from the waveguides801A-801D to a center grating region 807. The area of the grating region807 may be configured to approximately match the fiber mode. Theexpanding regions 803A-803D may be tapered from the size of the gratingregion 807 down to that of the waveguides 801A-801D. In an examplescenario, the grey regions may comprised unetched silicon where thewhite regions comprise partially etched regions of the silicon. Thetaper may be a linear taper or another shape that is not linear, forinstance, a parabolic shape.

The DMGC 800 is based on a 2D grating that comprises two 1D gratingsthat are approximately perpendicular to each other. The fiber 805 istilted from the normal to the chip along the direction indicated in thefigure. Depending on its polarization state, the optical power in eachsignal is separated into two substantially perpendicular waveguides. Theoptical power at the wavelength λ₂ is coupled in the forward direction,and the optical power at the wavelength λ₁ is coupled in the reversedirection, analogously to the splitting of the two wavelengths in the 1DDMGC of FIG. 7A.

The coupling efficiency between the mode propagating in the grating 807and the waveguide mode of the wide side of the tapers 803A-803D may beimproved by adding features to the interface between the DMGC gratingand each output waveguide taper. A simple embodiment of such a featurewould be a narrow slit that is etched in the silicon layer along eachedge of the grating, as illustrated by the slits 811 in FIG. 8. Eachslit covers approximately the entire edge of the DMGC grating 807. Thewidth of the slit (the short dimension) is usually very small, shorterthan a single wavelength. The width may vary slightly along the edge andthe long edges of the slit are not necessarily perpendicular to thebisector of the taper. The distance between the grating 807 and theslits 811 may be on the order or smaller than a single wavelength.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate phase matching conditions for atwo-dimensional demultiplexing grating coupler, in accordance with anexample embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 9A shows the phase matchingconditions in terms of the wavevectors defined above. The formulae forthe pitch and the fiber angle in the case of the 2D DMGC also followfrom the phase matching conditions, although they are different from theequation for the 1D DMGC, due to the fact that the angle between thefiber and the output waveguides is approximately 45° in the case of the2D version. Note that the reciprocal lattice vectors G are not parallelto the wavevectors of the grating modes, as for the 1D grating. There istypically a small angle of a few degrees between the two vectors, whichis exaggerated for the purpose of representing the phase matchingconditions in this figure.

After rescaling the two groups of vectors as shown above for the 1DDMGC, assuming no wavelength-dependence of the effective indices, thevectors shown in FIG. 9B are obtained. Compared to the 1D case, there isa new free parameter in the phase matching equations, the small angle ϕenclosed by the grating wavevector and the reciprocal latticewavevector. Note that this angle is the same for both gratingwavevectors, since the triangle shown in FIG. 9B is isosceles. From FIG.9B, it is also clear that the opposing waveguides for the two differentwavelengths are not necessarily parallel.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a two-dimensional demultiplexing gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown 2D DMGC 1000, waveguides1001A-1001D, expanding regions 1003A and 1003B, and grating region 1007.

The waveguide pairs, 1001A/1001B and 1001C/1001D, associated with eachwavelength enclose an approximately 90° angle. These angles, denoted byα₁ and α₂, are both preferably close to 90° because of the polarizationsplitting capability required from the DMGC at the receiver input. Thetwo grating wavevectors define the directions of the waveguides. If theangle ϕ between k_(g) and G is small, then both of these angles can beclose to their desired values.

FIG. 11 illustrates angles for phase matching conditions for a twodimensional demultiplexing grating coupler, in accordance with anexample embodiment of the disclosure. The angles in the drawingillustrate the phase matching condition. Since the grating periodicityis expected to be approximately along the 45° with respect to the fibertilt plane, for the architecture shown in FIG. 10, the angle δ should beclose to 45°. The angles enclosed by the pairs of waveguides associatedwith λ₁ and with λ₂, are, respectively,α₁=2δ−2ϕα₂=2δ+2ϕ

Therefore if δ=45°, a configuration is obtained where, for bothwavelengths, the magnitude of the deviation from the desired angle of90° is the same, namely, 2ϕ.

In an example scenario, a configuration where δ is different from 45°may be advantageous if, for instance, it is preferred to reduce thepolarization dependence of the DMGC for one of the wavelengths. Forinstance, setting δ=45°+ϕ will result in α₁=90° but α₂=90°+4ϕ.

With these definitions, the cosine and sine rules may be utilized todetermine the phase matching conditions:

${2\; n_{g}\cos\;\phi} = \frac{\lambda_{1} + \lambda_{2}}{\Lambda}$${n_{g}^{2} + \left( \frac{\lambda_{1}}{\Lambda} \right)^{2} - {2\; n_{g}\frac{\lambda_{1}}{\Lambda}\cos\;\phi}} = {n_{f}^{2}\sin^{2}\theta}$$\frac{\sin\;\phi}{n_{f}\sin\;\theta} = \frac{\sin\;\delta}{n_{g}}$from which the pitch, δ, and ϕ may be expressed as a function of thefiber tilt angle:

$\Lambda = \sqrt{\frac{\lambda_{1}\lambda_{2}}{n_{g}^{2} - {n_{f}^{2}\sin^{2}\theta}}}$$\phi = {\cos^{- 1}\left( \frac{\lambda_{1} + \lambda_{2}}{2\; n_{g}\Lambda} \right)}$$\delta = {\cos^{- 1}\left( \frac{\lambda_{2} - \lambda_{1}}{2\; n_{f}\Lambda\;\sin\;\theta} \right)}$

If the wavelength-dependence of the effective indices is taken intoaccount, then there may be small corrections to these formulae.

FIG. 12 illustrates angles between output waveguides as a function offiber tilt angle, in accordance with an example embodiment of thedisclosure. As an example, it may be assumed that n_(g)=3, n_(f)=1.45,λ₁=1310 nm and λ₂=1490 nm. The resulting values for α₁ and α₂ areplotted in FIG. 12. The plot indicates that the fiber tilt angle is inthe range of approximately 10.5°-11° in order to achieve angles betweenthe output waveguides that are close to 90°. This range is only anexample and may be different, depending on the actual application.

In its simplest embodiment, the 2D DMGC contains a uniform straightgrating. However, the grating can be apodized to improve the modematching between the Gaussian fiber mode and the scattered mode. Inaddition, the grating may be designed using curved grating, like in aPMGC, which can reduce the taper length needed to convert the mode sizehorizontally from the size of the fiber to the size of the integratedwaveguide, which is typically submicron.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate a six-waveguide two dimensionaldemultiplexing grating coupler and associated phase matching conditions,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 13A, there is shown grating coupler 1300, waveguides 1301A-1301F,and optical fiber 1305. The grating coupler 1307 may comprise expandingregions 1303A-1303F and a grating region 1307.

In an example scenario, the grating is defined by a hexagonal lattice,as in the case of the tri-wavelength multiplexing grating coupler inFIG. 6. However, in this design, the pitches defining the grating region1307 are chosen in such a way that phase matching occurs for λ₁ in threeof the six waveguide directions, and phase matching occurs for λ₂ in theother three directions.

Four of the waveguides, 1301B, 1301C, 1301E, and 1301F, are not alignedwith the plane of the fiber 1305. The phase matching condition for thesedirections can be calculated similarly to what was done for the DMGCwith four waveguides. Due to the presence of the other two waveguides,1301A and 1301D, it is no longer necessary to set α₁ and α₂ to be closeto 90°. In fact, the design may be chosen such that these two angles areboth close to, for example, 60°. In the example design for thefour-waveguide DMGC above, with reference to FIG. 12, the fiber tiltangle may be configured to be approximately 8.8°.

The periodicity of the grating in the direction along the fiber 1305 isalso determined by the phase matching conditions. In contrast with thedesign for the other four waveguides, in this direction the shorterwavelength λ₁ is scattered in the backward direction with respect to thefiber, which is opposite to the 1D DMGC configuration.

One way to achieve this is to follow the example phase matchingconfiguration shown in FIG. 13B. In contrast with the phase matching forthe 1D DMGC, the scattering for λ₁ is now second-order. This conditionimplies the equations

$n_{g} = {\frac{2\lambda_{1}}{\Lambda} - {n_{f}\sin\;\theta}}$$n_{g} = {\frac{\lambda_{2}}{\Lambda} + {n_{f}\sin\;\theta}}$which yield the following:

$\Lambda = \frac{{2\lambda_{1}} + \lambda_{2}}{2\; n_{g}}$$\theta = {\sin^{- 1}\frac{n_{g}\left( {{2\lambda_{1}} - \lambda_{2}} \right)}{n_{f}\left( {{2\lambda_{1}} + \lambda_{2}} \right)}}$

This fiber tilt angle in turn determines the angle δ, which allows therest of the DMGC 1300 to be designed.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of a quad multiplexing grating coupler,in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring toFIG. 14, there is shown grating coupler 1400, waveguides 1401A-1401D,and optical fiber 1405. The grating coupler 1400 may comprise a quadmultiplexing grating coupler (QMGC) and may include expanding regions1403A-1403D and grating region 1407.

The 2D DMGC concept can also be used to create a coupler thatmultiplexes four different wavelengths together into a single fiber. Thetwo 1D gratings that make up the 2D grating do not have to be identicalbut can be designed for different pairs of wavelengths. If the PMGC isthe multiplexing analogue of the PSGC, then the QMGC is the multiplexinganalogue of the DMGC.

The grating coupler 1400 may receive optical signals of four differentwavelengths from the four input waveguides 1401A-1401D where the gratingregion 1407 couples the optical signals into the fiber 1405, therebymultiplexing four wavelengths into a single fiber.

FIG. 15 illustrates a beam-splitting single polarization gratingcoupler, in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosure.Referring to FIG. 15, there is shown grating coupler 1500, input opticalwaveguide 1501, and optical fiber 1505. The grating coupler 1500 maycomprise a beam-splitting single polarization grating coupler (BSGC)with grating sections 1507A and 1507B.

The BSGC may be similar to a standard SPGC where the two halves 1507Aand 1507B of the grating coupler 1500 are designed for differentwavelengths. If both wavelengths travel in a single waveguide 1501, forinstance, after having been combined in a waveguide multiplexer, theycan be both coupled into a single fiber 1505 using this BSGCconfiguration on a transmitter, for instance. The grating in the twoportions 1507A and 1507B have different grating pitch, as shown in theinset of FIG. 15.

The inset in FIG. 15 shows the central portion of the grating of anexemplary BSGC layout implemented in silicon-SiO₂ platform. In thisfigure, the lighter shaded area represents the unetched portion of thesilicon thin film, whereas the darker shaded area represents the etchedportion. The refractive index contrast between the etched and unetchedportions creates the diffractive grating. The right and left halves ofthe inset show the gratings design for the two different wavelengths.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate different versions of beam-splitting singlepolarization grating couplers, in accordance with an example embodimentof the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 16A, there is shown an input fiber1605 and grating coupler 1600, which may comprise a BSGC with gratingsections 1607A and 1607B.

On the receiver side of an optoelectronic transceiver, as thepolarization state of the fiber mode is often unknown, apolarization-independent version of the BSGC can be used. It is similarto a polarization splitting grating coupler (PSGC) in which the twohalves of the grating are designed for different wavelengths, as shownby the grating sections 1607A and 1607B, where each is designed as agrating for a PSGC. The fiber 1605 is near-perpendicular to the plane ofthe chip and is situated with its endface near the center of thegrating.

FIG. 16B illustrates input fiber 1605 and grating coupler 1650, whichmay comprise a BSGC with grating sections 1607A and 1607B oriented in adirection perpendicular to the BSGC of FIG. 16A.

To ensure that the optical power in each wavelength is scattered into adifferent direction in the plane of the chip, the grating sections 1607Aand 1607B for the two wavelengths are designed appropriately. Forinstance, referring to the example on the FIG. 16B, the grating section1607B scatters the corresponding wavelength in the forward direction,whereas the 1607A scatters the corresponding wavelength in the backwarddirection.

Similarly, for the lateral structure of the grating coupler 1600 in FIG.16A, grating section 1607A scatters λ₁ optical signals to the left andgrating section 1607B scatters λ₂ optical signals to the right.

To achieve this mode of operation, the individual portions of thegrating are designed as illustrated in FIGS. 17A-17C and FIGS. 18A-18C.

FIGS. 17A-17C illustrate grating designs for vertical orientationbeam-splitting single polarization grating couplers, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 17A, there isshown a first grating 1710 for coupling optical signals with awavelength λ₁ in the forward direction, assuming a fiber orientation asshown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. Similarly, FIG. 17B shows a second grating1720 for coupling optical signals with a wavelength λ₂ in the backwarddirection.

FIG. 17C illustrates a combination of the two gratings of FIGS. 17A and17C, where optical signals with λ₂ wavelength are coupled in thebackward direction and optical signals with λ₁ wavelength are coupled inthe forward direction.

In the example given above in FIGS. 17A-17C, the symmetry of the gratingis retained. However, referring to the example of FIG. 16A, this nolonger holds. In this case, the grating portions are designeddifferently from a standard focusing PSGC, because the two waveguidesinto which each wavelength is split into do not enclose the same anglewith the fiber. Instead, the angles enclosed by the projection of thefiber onto the chip and the aforementioned two waveguides are, in thisexample, are approximately 45° and 135°, respectively.

FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate grating designs for horizontal orientationbeam-splitting single polarization grating couplers, in accordance withan example embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 18A, there isshown a first grating 1810 for coupling optical signals with awavelength λ₁ to the right, assuming a fiber orientation as shown inFIGS. 16A and 16B. Similarly, FIG. 18B shows a second grating 1820 forcoupling optical signals with a wavelength λ₂ to the left.

The schematic views of the underlying gratings for this type ofpolarization-independent BSGC are shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B and theresulting merged grating is shown in FIG. 18C. Note that the BSGCapproach described with respect to FIGS. 17A-17C and 18A-18C can also beused to split or combine more than two wavelengths.

In an example embodiment, a method and system are disclosed for siliconphotonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers. In this regard,aspects of the disclosure may comprise in a transceiver integrated in asilicon photonics chip, where the transceiver is operable to: generate afirst modulated output optical signal at a first wavelength utilizing afirst electrical signal, generate a second modulated output opticalsignal at a second wavelength utilizing a second electrical signal, andcommunicate the first and second modulated output optical signals intoan optical fiber coupled to the chip utilizing a multiplexing gratingcoupler in the chip.

A received input optical signal may be split into a modulated inputoptical signal at the first wavelength and a modulated input opticalsignal at the second wavelength utilizing a demultiplexing gratingcoupler in the chip. The modulated input optical signal at the firstwavelength may be converted to a first electrical input signal utilizinga first photodetector in the chip. The modulated input optical signal atthe second wavelength may be converted to a second electrical inputsignal utilizing a second photodetector in the chip. The first andsecond modulated output optical signals may be generated by modulatingcontinuous wave (CW) optical signals at the first and secondwavelengths, respectively.

The multiplexing grating coupler and/or the demultiplexing gratingcoupler may comprise a grating region and an expanding region betweenthe grating region and an optical waveguide, with a slit between thegrating region and the tapered region. The multiplexing grating couplermay comprise a pair of intersecting gratings. A spacing of eachintersecting grating may be configured to scatter optical signals at oneof the first and second wavelengths. Scatterers may be situated atintersections of the intersecting gratings. The scatterers may compriseholes in a silicon layer at or near a top surface of the siliconphotonics chip.

The multiplexing grating coupler and/or the demultiplexing gratingcoupler may comprise a grating with hexagonal symmetry. Thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a grating that scattersoptical signals at the first wavelength into at least one waveguide inthe silicon photonics chip in a first direction and scatters opticalsignals at the second wavelength into at least one waveguide in thesilicon photonics chip in a second direction substantially opposite tothe first direction. The multiplexing grating coupler and/or thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise a beam-splitting gratingcoupler.

In another example embodiment, a system is disclosed for siliconphotonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers. In this regard,aspects of the disclosure may comprise a transceiver integrated in asilicon photonics chip, the transceiver being operable to: generate aplurality of modulated output optical signals at different wavelengthsutilizing a plurality of electrical signals and communicate theplurality of modulated output optical signals into an optical fibercoupled to the chip utilizing a multiplexing grating coupler in thechip. The multiplexing grating coupler may comprise an array ofscatterers with spacing between the scatterers in different directionscorresponding to the different wavelengths, and expanding regionsbetween the array of scatterers and waveguides coupled to themultiplexing grating coupler.

In another example embodiment, a system is disclosed for siliconphotonics wavelength division multiplexing transceivers. In this regard,aspects of the disclosure may comprise a transceiver integrated in asilicon photonics chip, the transceiver being operable to: receive aninput optical signal that comprises a plurality of optical signals atdifferent wavelengths from an optical fiber coupled to the chiputilizing a demultiplexing grating coupler in the chip. Thedemultiplexing grating coupler may comprise an array of scatterers withspacing between the scatterers in different directions corresponding tothe different wavelengths and expanding regions between the array ofscatterers and waveguides coupled to the demultiplexing grating coupler.

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory may comprise afirst “circuit” when executing a first one or more lines of code and maycomprise a second “circuit” when executing a second one or more lines ofcode. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items inthe list joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means anyelement of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. In other words, “xand/or y” means “one or both of x and y”. As another example, “x, y,and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x,y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. In other words, “x, y and/or z” means“one or more of x, y and z”. As utilized herein, the term “exemplary”means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. Asutilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set off lists ofone or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. Asutilized herein, circuitry or a device is “operable” to perform afunction whenever the circuitry or device comprises the necessaryhardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform the function,regardless of whether performance of the function is disabled or notenabled (e.g., by a user-configurable setting, factory trim, etc.).

While the disclosure has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present disclosure without departing from itsscope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not belimited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the presentdisclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for optical communication, the methodcomprising: in a transceiver integrated in a silicon photonics chip:communicating first and second modulated output optical signals into anoptical fiber coupled to the chip utilizing a multiplexing gratingcoupler in the chip, wherein the multiplexing grating coupler comprises:a pair of intersecting gratings with scatterers situated atintersections of the intersecting gratings; an expanding region betweenthe pair of intersecting gratings and an optical waveguide; and a slitcomprising a reduced thickness of silicon between the pair ofintersecting gratings and the expanding region; splitting a receivedinput optical signal into a modulated input optical signal at a firstwavelength and a modulated input optical signal at a second wavelengthutilizing a demultiplexing grating coupler in the chip; converting themodulated input optical signal at the first wavelength to a firstelectrical input signal utilizing a first photodetector in the chip; andconverting the modulated input optical signal at the second wavelengthto a second electrical input signal utilizing a second photodetector inthe chip.
 2. The method according to claim 1, comprising generating thefirst and second modulated output optical signals by modulatingcontinuous wave (CW) optical signals at the first and secondwavelengths, respectively.
 3. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe slit between the expanding region and the pair of intersectinggratings is separated from the pair of intersecting gratings by adistance of approximately a single wavelength of the first or secondmodulated output optical signals.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein a spacing of each intersecting grating is configured to scatteroptical signals at one of the first and second wavelengths.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the scatterers comprise holes in asilicon layer at or near a top surface of the silicon photonics chip. 6.The method according to claim 1, wherein the multiplexing gratingcoupler and/or the demultiplexing grating coupler comprises a gratingwith hexagonal symmetry.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein thedemultiplexing grating coupler comprises a grating that scatters opticalsignals at the first wavelength into at least one waveguide in thesilicon photonics chip in a first direction and scatters optical signalsat the second wavelength into at least one waveguide in the siliconphotonics chip in a second direction substantially opposite to the firstdirection.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multiplexinggrating coupler and/or the demultiplexing grating coupler comprises abeam-splitting grating coupler.
 9. A system for communication, thesystem comprising: a transceiver integrated in a silicon photonics chip,the transceiver being operable to: communicate first and secondmodulated output optical signals into an optical fiber coupled to thechip utilizing a multiplexing grating coupler in the chip, wherein themultiplexing grating coupler comprises: a pair of intersecting gratingswith scatterers situated at intersections of the intersecting gratings;an expanding region between the pair of intersecting gratings and anoptical waveguide; and a slit comprising a reduced thickness of siliconbetween the pair of intersecting gratings and the expanding region;split a received input optical signal into a modulated input opticalsignal at a first wavelength and a modulated input optical signal at asecond wavelength utilizing a demultiplexing grating coupler in thechip; convert the modulated input optical signal at the first wavelengthto a first electrical input signal utilizing a first photodetector inthe chip; and convert the modulated input optical signal at the secondwavelength to a second electrical input signal utilizing a secondphotodetector in the chip.
 10. The system according to claim 9, whereinthe transceiver is operable to generate the first and second modulatedoutput optical signals by modulating continuous wave (CW) opticalsignals at the first and second wavelengths, respectively.
 11. Thesystem according to claim 9, wherein a spacing of each intersectinggrating is configured to scatter optical signals at one of the first andsecond wavelengths.
 12. The system according to claim 9, wherein thescatterers comprise holes in a silicon layer at or near a top surface ofthe silicon photonics chip.
 13. The system according to claim 9, whereinthe multiplexing grating coupler and/or the demultiplexing gratingcoupler comprises a grating with hexagonal symmetry.
 14. The systemaccording to claim 9, wherein the demultiplexing grating couplercomprises a grating that scatters optical signals at the firstwavelength into a waveguide in the silicon photonics chip in a firstdirection and scatters optical signals at the second wavelength into awaveguide in the silicon photonics chip in a second directionsubstantially opposite to the first direction.
 15. The system accordingto claim 9, wherein the multiplexing grating coupler and/or thedemultiplexing grating coupler comprises a beam-splitting gratingcoupler.
 16. The system according to claim 9, wherein the slit betweenthe expanding region and the pair of intersecting gratings is separatedfrom the pair of intersecting gratings by a distance of approximately asingle wavelength of the first or second modulated output opticalsignals.